Generic Competences In Higher Education

Research project
Why would an international student elect to study MPA at KOI in 2020 rather than an
MBA at the same institution or vice-versa?
Name of the student
Research supervisor
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Studying MPA or MBA in Australia is one of acclaimed achievements the students tend to make
in their educational career. Teaching MPA has been a successful journey for KOI which is going
to introduce new course viz. MBA from the year 2020. This study aims to explore the issue of
Impact of MBA over MPA from the year 2020. The scope of the study is limited to prospects of
job and nature of service. Along with this, duration has been considered as an important factor in
this research. The study provides a valuable insight over the topic by conducting a qualitative
study that employs the method of semi-structured interviews along with analyzing secondary
data in the form of internal analysis of records related to students of KOI.

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................3
overview..........................................................................................................................................3
Chapter 2 Literature review.............................................................................................................5
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................6
2.2 Subtopics................................................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Duration...........................................................................................................................6
2.2.2 Nature of service.............................................................................................................9
2.2.3 Prospects of job.............................................................................................................11
2.3 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................13
Chapter 3 Research methodology..................................................................................................14
3.1 Data collection methods.......................................................................................................14
3.2 validity and reliability considerations..................................................................................15
3.3 research protocol..................................................................................................................16
3.4 Interview process and questions..........................................................................................16
3.5 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................19
Chapter 4 Data analysis.................................................................................................................19
4.1 Participants...........................................................................................................................19
4.2 Objectivity............................................................................................................................21
4.3 Data analysis........................................................................................................................23
Chapter 5 Conclusion....................................................................................................................24
5.1 Duration...............................................................................................................................24

5.1.1 Flexible schedule...........................................................................................................25
5.1.2 Not leaving MPA...........................................................................................................25
5.1.3 Impact of background from the perspective of duration...............................................25
5.2 Nature of service..................................................................................................................25
5.2.1 Nature of service impacting choice of students.............................................................25
5.2.2 Increased student enrolment at KOI..............................................................................26
5.2.3 Reputation of Australia.................................................................................................26
5.2.4 Quality services at KOI.................................................................................................26
5.3 Job prospects........................................................................................................................26
5.3.1 Bright prospects for Job in Australia itself....................................................................26
5.3.2 Job prospects for MBA and MPA both.........................................................................26
5.3.3 Provision of internship present at KOI with bright prospects for MPA and MBA both
in future..................................................................................................................................27
5.4 Conclusion about the primary research question.............................................................27
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................28

Chapter 1 Introduction
overview
Studying in Australia is considered as one of the big achievements for a student of post-
graduation. KOI is acclaimed as one of the best education institutions in Australia. It is offering
MPA (Master in Professional Accounting) as an attractive course for last many years for students
from different corners of the world. Now, it is offering an MBA (Master of Business
Administration) from the year 2020. This may create a dilemma for a student to pursue MPA or
MBA at KOI keeping in mind equal duration and fee structure for both courses. Does this study
examine the question of an international student electing to study MPA at KOI in 2020 rather
than an MBA at the same institution or vice-versa?
1.1 Research aim
The research aims to find out the answer to the question of an international student electing to
study MPA at KOI in 2020 rather than an MBA at the same institution or vice-versa?
1.2 Research objectives
Following are the objectives of this research:
a) To explore the prospects of education in Australia
b) To find out the relationship of Duration with the choice of students
c) To find out the relationship of nature of service with the choice of students
d) To find out the relationship of job prospects with the choice of students
e) To find out the reasons for studying in KOI, leaving all other institutions, from the year
2020

1.3 Research Questions
The questions of the research are:
How often duration is considered by the student as the most important factor to choose a post-
graduation course?
How does the nature of service impact the overall reputation and image of KOI?
What avenues KOI has for its students from the perspective of job prospects?
1.4 Research Scope
The scope of the study is limited to MPA and MBA courses at KOI in Australia. The study
provides deep insight over the topic of primary research question with exploring the objectives
from the perspective of the two courses mentioned above.
1.5 Structure of the dissertation
The dissertation is divided into 5 chapters- introduction, literature review, research methodology,
data analysis, and conclusion.
1.6 Summary
This chapter provides an overview of the study by listing the aims and objectives of the study
along with primary and secondary research questions as stipulated above. This chapter sets the
basic foundation for research conducted in subsequent parts of the study.

Chapter 2 Literature review
Figure 1 depicts the relation between Masters of Professional Accounting (MPA) and 3 subtopics
of duration, prospects for job, and nature of job. 3 subtopics have been depicted from the
perspective of time and cost required to pursue MPA.
Figure 1 Relationship between Master of accounting and 3 subtopics considered
2.1 Introduction
This chapter presents three subtopics of post-graduation in detail. These subtopics are duration,
nature of service and prospects for a job. Duration includes the time required to complete an
MBA or MPA at KOI whereas the nature of service is the kind of job student will be able to get
after completing the course. The prospects for the job are the chances of getting a qualified job in
Duration
Prospects
for job
Nature of
Job
MPA
Time
Cost

any corner of the world after completing the course. The relationship of time and cost with three
subtopics has been depicted in the above figure.
2.2 Subtopics
Three subtopics which decide the fate of MPA over MBA are as follows:
2.2.1 Duration
Duration is a major factor to decide the course to be pursued (Anand & Gray, 2018). Duration
impacts the choice of students or professionals due to time being a factor to consider pursuing
any study or job (Azadeh et al., 2010). Time or duration has percussions on personal as well as
professional life (Barratt et al., 2018). In today’s era, it is difficult to maintain a work-life
balance between personal and professional life (Bendig et al., 2017). Along with this, if the
student wants to pursue mastering, time or duration makes a big impact on the decision to be
taken from the perspective, of course to be pursued (Bromiley & Rau, 2015). Duration of MBA or
MPA impacts the viability of course for the particular student (Hitt et al., 2015). MPA has its
duration of 2 years which can be completed in trimesters (KalyanSinghal & JayaSinghal, 2012).
Similarly, an MBA at KOI will have maximum 2yeras duration with little impact on personal
and professional life (Hitt et al., 2015).
Duration of the course varies with the university and country (Ketokivi, 2015). MPA is the 2-year
duration course with 4 trimesters (Barratt et al., 2018). The student can complete the course early
which makes MPA attractive for the wide number of students (Meredith & Pilkington, 2018).
Along with this MPA can be pursued without leaving the job as the schedule is decided as per

the requirements of the student (KalyanSinghal & JayaSinghal, 2012). This makes MPA highly
attractive for professionals seeking a job in the field of accounting (Lu et al., 2018)
MBA is available in many courses worldwide but generally, it is of two years duration (Villena &
Gioia, 2018). At KOI, similar to MPA, MBA can be pursued by professionals without leaving
their job (KevinLinderman & AravindChandrasekaran, 2010). Along with this, the duration of the
MBA can be reduced to 1 year as per the suitability of the student (Kumar et al., 2018). This has
raised the question about the option to be considered for post-graduation (Hitt et al., 2015). If
two courses offer the same degree of course with the same fees and duration, what are the
prospects of MPA at KOI? This paper explores this question and finds out the chances of
students opting for MPA. The students must be provided an amicable environment to continue
their personal and professional life without any impediment, but at the same time, pursue the
study of their choice (Netland & Aspelund, 2013).
MPA is needed for those who want to make their career in accounting whereas MBA is required
for inculcating entrepreneur skills (Protopappa-Sieke & Seifert, 2011). These are complementary
to each other with each having own importance in the relevant field (R.Meredith et al., 2011). As
far as duration is concerned, there is not much difference that makes both courses equally
attractive so there might not be any impact over students’ choice regarding the course to be
pursued (Secchi et al., 2018). Both courses have an equal buzz in the international community
with different academic fields (Stauffer et al., 2018). From the perspective of duration, there is
no significant difference between the two courses which makes both courses equally attractive
for students (Stauffer et al., 2018).
The choice, of course, depends more on the career the student or professional wants to pursue
(Stefania Boscari et al., 2018). There are different careers for MPA and MBA that makes the